SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Pfizer and German partner BioNTech said on Thursday they have agreed to supply the U.S. government with 500 million doses of coronavirus vaccine to poorer countries over the two years.
The drugmakers said they would provide 200 million doses in 2021 and 300 million doses in the first half of 2022, which the U.S. will then distribute to 92 lower-income countries and the African Union, according to Reuters.
The shots, which will be produced at Pfizer’s U.S. production sites, will be provided at a not-for-profit price.
“Our partnership with the U.S. government will help bring hundreds of millions of doses of our vaccine to the poorest countries around the world as quickly as possible,” Reuters cited Pfizer Chief Executive Alberta Bourla as saying.
Deliveries of the 200 million doses will begin in August 2021 and continue through the remainder of the year, they companies said.
The 300 million doses for 2022 are planned to be delivered between January and the end of June, they added.
Three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday that the U.S. administration planned to donate 500 million Pfizer vaccine doses to nearly 100 countries over the next two years.
The donations will go through the COVAX vaccine program that distributes COVID-19 shots to low- and middle-income countries. The program is led by the World Health Organization and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI).
U.S. President Joe Biden will announce the deal on Thursday at the Group of Seven meeting of the world’s wealthiest countries in Britain, one of the people said.
The deal was negotiated over the past four weeks by White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients and the coronavirus task force team, one of the sources said.
